There is a social media post which has been in circulation in the cyberspace especially among some of the Indian SM users and it has recently been denounced by the veterans in the Indian Armed forces in a letter to the President. The post speaks about a Muslim Regiment in the Indian army which had refused to fight Pakistan in the 1965 Indo-Pak war. It tries to create a false imagery about the Army. The letter by the veterans of the Indian armed forces signed by more than 100 veterans has condemned and denounced this post which tries to create an imagery of a recalcitrant group of soldiers based on religious identity. Indian armed forces have always been known for their Esprit de corps attitude where there is no difference felt on the basis of religion, caste, class or creed among the soldiers across the ranks and among the three wings of the Army, Navy and Airforce. This post which seems to be pandering to centrifugal communal sentiments originated in the year 2013 from a tweet by a group known as World Hindus United. It can be debated whether the SM group, which created the post, was formed by people in India or some other country. But, the ball was set rolling in the SM cyber space. The post was retweeted numerous times by uninformed populace whose religious egos were probably fed and fuelled by the slanderous post.

In the past few months, when India has been facing a border dispute with China, the post has seen a resurgence in the frequency and total number of its postings on social media platforms. The letter by the veterans addressed to the president and signed by more than 100 who have served in the Indian Armed forces come at the right moment for the right cause of taking a stand against such nefarious tendencies which seek to disrupt the social fabric of the nation in the middle of an ongoing pandemic. It states that the post is outrightly false and is being spread by forces inimical to the country and the Armed forces. The letter by the veterans underlines the falsehood campaign being triggered by the post which targets a community in such turbulent times. The letter states that Indian Army never had such Muslim regiment in 1965 or since. Among other veterans is Lt. Gen. Syed Ata Hasnain who in a TOI blog in November, 2017 had stated that existence of such regiment was not true and that the social media post may be a part of public relations disinformation campaign run by the Pakistan’s ISI.

It must not be forgotten that the Indian army had (and still has many) officers and soldiers like Brigadier Mohammed Usman, (cited in the letter) who despite being asked by Jinnah to move to Pakistan, chose to stay in India. Brigadier Usman fought and died in the War of Kashmir in 1948 and was awarded the Mahaveer chakra posthumously. In the same 1965 war between India and Pakistan, which is mentioned in the post, there were soldiers like Quartermaster Havildar Abdul Hamid, who was awarded the Paramveer chakra posthumously for his valour in the battle of Asal Uttar. The war had seen the participation by Muslim soldiers like Major Abdul Rafey Khan and Major (later Lt. Gen.) Mohammed Zaki, both of whom were awarded Vir Chakra. The people who retweeted the uninformed post would be surprised to know that Major Adbul Rafey Khan, in the 1965 war had fought against the Pakistani division commanded by his own uncle, Major Gen. Sahibzada Yaqub Khan.

The post condemned in the letter of veterans is denigrating to the honour of such soldiers who fought and died for the country. The letter further underlines that such posts creates social unrest and affects the morales of the soldiers serving far away from their homes often in high-risk field service conditions. The letter appealed to the President, the Supreme Commander of the Indian Armed forces to ensure preservation of the secular and the apolitical nature of the Indian armed forces and asked for investigations into the antecedents of the people who have created such posts and such groups. The letter also appealed to the President to warn the social media providers who enable sharing of such harmful posts and charge the individuals involved in the creation of such misinformed and socially dangerous posts.